Bioshock: Forever little sister
by Wolfkins
Summary: Delta failed his little sister, now he wanders Rapture mourning & fixing things until one day he comes across Hazel, a woman who's stayed w/ her big daddy despite her age. B, as she calls him, was killed by a pack of splicers & she refuses to leave him. Delta commits himself to protecting her & redeeming himself, even if its against her will, & maybe getting them topside. R&R


Each giant footstep clanged loudly on the dingy white tiles, echoing off the even dingier white walls as he hurried along in his cumbersome suit. Pulled along by instinct alone, he followed the quiet sound of weeping down the winding halls of Outer Persephone. Even though his little one was gone the need to protect, to answer that familiar call was still deeply ingrained. The crying sounded muffled to his ears, telling him that even in grief he or she knew the dangers of drawing attention to themselves, though they were clearly distraught. His heart was thumping harder than it had in months, his body feeling distinctly alive, this was what he was meant for. It felt like forever but after several more turns past a receptionist desk and several ransacked offices he found the source that had been tugging at his invisible strings.

Though he was faster and quieter than most of the other models, his entrance was still quite loud and unmistakable. Still, the woman seemed taken by surprise at his approach. She looked up sharply from where she was half-sprawled, half-kneeling on the floor, head on the chest of a dead bouncer, and let out a little squeak. Even his daunting presence however couldn't get her to release her hold on the protector, her hands still gripping his shoulders as if she never intended to let go. The alpha tilted his head to the side, wondering what to make of the woman before him and her odd display. It most certainly wasn't what he'd expected, except for little sisters everyone seemed to want them dead. She was far too old to be a little sister at present, yet she was exhibiting the same type of bond with the deceased bouncer that the little ones did.

Hazel stared wide eyed into the light yellow face of his helmet, tears still dripping down her cheeks, which were raw from being wiped at endlessly, utterly frozen. She recognized his design as an alpha, otherwise known as berserkers, strictly for how erratic they became after losing their little sister. Alpha's were the most unpredictable, dangerous type of protector and he made her heart race anxiously. She couldn't believe she'd allowed the metal giant to sneak up on her, she should have known better! But this was the first time Hazel didn't have the protection of her big daddy, the first time she'd ever needed to look out for herself...and she'd failed. She turned a little more to face the alpha, hands sliding across the intact portion of B's chest, almost physically incapable of letting him go.

Delta couldn't figure the woman out even after several minutes of silently observing her. She wasn't a big sister, as she wasn't wearing their suit but was very clearly emotionally attached to the protector with the gaping hole in his chest. Her attachment and trust were clearly for him and only him, if her widened eyes and quivering lower lip were any indication, and not for protectors in general. He was clearly scaring the hell out of her but duty and perhaps something more compelled him to do something for the woman, he couldn't just leave. The woman would want him to leave her to her grieving, he knew that, but the tug he'd felt earlier was becoming even more insistent. Out in the open she was a sitting duck, easy prey for the plethora of ragged, desperate souls that called Rapture home.

When the alpha took several steps in her direction Hazel scurried to the other side of B's body, hands never once breaking contact. Even in death, she wasn't ready to let him go, they'd been together for as long as she could remember, he was her life. The protector waved his hand, indicating that Hazel should come to him, but she made no move to obey. She couldn't fathom why the alpha was acting so strangely, did he think she was a little sister that needed protection? Delta groaned loudly, sending visible shivers up the woman's spine unintentionally, and thumped his way to the bouncer's side. He leaned down and offered the woman his large, metal clad hand and willed his mask to glow green to signify he had good intentions. Admittedly, the green light took Hazel aback and her mouth dropped open, unnoticed. Was the protector trying to communicate with her? Outside of "talking" to their little sisters, trying to frighten potential threats away or outright attacking, that was completely unheard of. The latter two were more so automatic responses rather than conscious thought however, whereas this appeared to be purposeful.

Delta groaned a second time when the woman shook her head, eyes darting between his outstretched hand and his green mask. For her to be out in the open for any length of time was dangerous. He wondered if she even knew how much danger she was in, likely having been under the bouncer's protection since she was a little sister. Delta wasn't sure why he cared so much about her safety, perhaps because she was deeply mourning one of his own, but he did. Maybe it was his own grief that demanded he regrasp his purpose and maybe just maybe it would calm his tumultuous mind. Giving her one last chance to come with him willingly, he pushed the offered hand out a bit further and nodded encouragingly.

"No." Hazel growled, finding her voice, even though it cracked and quavered slightly. "I'm not leaving B."

B, so he was her big daddy then. It was unheard of, as far as Delta knew, for a bond to last so long. Normally the pheromones would die off when the sister reached puberty and they would go their separate ways. It made him think of his own little sister, how little time they'd had together, and his chest tightened painfully. He wouldn't fail again, he would protect the fallen bouncer's woman.

When the protector groaned yet again and stood Hazel thought that perhaps he was giving up and leaving. She knew that as far as speech and comprehension went the alpha's were superior to the other types, he must have understood her words. But suddenly he lunged across B and grasped her by the biceps, lifting her clear off the ground and over his lifeless body. Hazel began kicking and screaming, squirming and punching, even though every time she collided with his suit it was excruciatingly painful, anything to get back to her protector. B had never once left her, not even when he should have and she wasn't going to leave him!

Unphased, Delta laid the woman over his shoulder as gently as possible and turned to go. She continued to scream, calling out to her lost protector, insisting that she was sorry, as he lumbered back the way he'd come. He needed to get her back to his apartment and out of danger as quickly as possible, if she attracted a large group of splicers things could get dicey. Hazel fought her hardest but she was no match for a big daddy. In the end, all she could do was watch B through a haze of tears until he disappeared from view as they rounded a corner. Shortly thereafter, fists raw and bloody, Hazel gave up fighting and succumbed to her grief, body shaking from the force of her sobs. She'd never known a mother or father, no siblings, there had only ever been B.

Delta badly wanted to comfort the woman but she would never be able to hear his extremely rarely used voice through his helmet and what would he say anyway? He hadn't spoken a word in years and quite frankly wasn't sure that he could. His little sister had done most of the talking and when a response was needed she had always seemed to understand his simple grunts. Instead, he reached over with his free hand and began rubbing her back as gingerly as his heavy glove allowed. Hazel drew in a sharp breath and froze beneath his ministrations. Was he comforting her? It didn't frighten her per se but it was a little unsettling, unnatural, if such a word held meaning in an anomaly such as Rapture. The bond she'd had with her bouncer was rare in its own right, but the way the alpha was treating her was completely unprecedented. She hadn't been bonded with him, she'd never even interacted with an alpha, her B had made certain of that. Why was he acting so strangely? Everything Hazel thought she knew about her world was crumbling.

* * *

Hazel sat stiffly on the worn couch where the alpha had set her down, her only move to rub her aching ribs. Though he'd been gentle with her, it had been a long, slow walk back to his apartment with her ribs pressed down on his suit the entire time. Even her hand was frozen now, as she watched with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity as the alpha began unclasping his suit. Was he going to take it off? She'd never seen her big daddy as he'd been fused with his suit. Were the alphas as monstrous looking as the splicers claimed? After a lot of maneuvering and unclasping the alpha popped off his helmet, revealing his face for the first time.

Delta froze, helmet in hand, as the woman stared at him in what appeared to be shock, before remembering that her bouncer had been fused. She'd never seen his or likely any other protector's face. He wondered what she thought of him as her intense green eyes took in the sight of his face. To be honest, he didn't even know what his face looked like as there was no mirror in his apartment. Before the woman had laid eyes on him he hadn't given it a second thought, now he wondered. When she didn't cringe or look away as he'd feared, Delta let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Hazel couldn't say for sure what she'd been expecting to see but what she saw most definitely wasn't it. He looked like a normal citizen, better actually because most of the remaining citizens were strung out splicers who looked as deteriorated as Rapture itself. The alpha had messy black hair that fell down to his shoulders, looking like it was rarely cut and a little sweaty from being inside his helmet. His skin wasn't green, as some claimed but rather was pale, which made more sense because he spent so much time encased in a tin capsule, and it showcased a set of clear blue intelligent looking eyes. The eyes held her gaze for a long moment and Hazel badly wanted to know what he was thinking. Though the alpha looked nothing like the monster he was made out to be, that wasn't to say that he wasn't intimidating, he most definitely was. He was at least a foot taller than herself and wearing only trousers, showcasing every intimidating muscle on his upper body. It became clear that he didn't need the suit to rip her limb from limb should he desire.

Delta forced himself to look away and continue stripping off his suit, feeling strangely embarrassed for staring at the woman for so long. But after walking the halls day in and day out seeing nothing but steel suits, little girls and splicers, she was indescribable. Her skin was clean and glowing, her eyes bright, though rimmed in red, and her white-blonde hair fell in soft curls down to the small of her back. He knew why he'd never seen her before, why her protector had been so vigilant and stayed with her for so long. Rapture would have eaten her alive. If they hadn't corrupted her with splicing, or killed her outright, they would surely have thrown her into the red light district and used her for pleasure.

Hazel scooted a bit further away when the alpha perched himself on the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest. Despite how docile he was acting, she wouldn't let herself forget that he was a berserker. Delta took a deep breath and cleared his throat several times, it felt oddly thick. He would need to dig deep in order to communicate with the woman. Unlike some of the later prototypes his vocal cords hadn't been modified, he didn't talk often but he wanted to believe he could. On his first attempt, the only thing that happened was a raspy growl and a deep, wheezing exhalation. Hazel's own mouth opened and closed several times wordlessly at the display, was the alpha trying to talk? The second attempt was a louder growl followed by a dry hiss but still no words. He kept trying, formulating the words in his mind, envisioning himself saying them and trying to force them from his throat. It took Delta a full twenty minutes and a good deal of frustration but finally, finally he did it! Never had he felt such a sense of accomplishment, not that he could recall anyway.

"Dell...delt….dell-ta." he rasped, pointing to his chest.

Hazel had to concentrate hard to make out the word and despite her grief and fear, she felt so sorry for the poor man. Though his face was ruddy with frustration, he refused to give up, making her heart ache. The things that they'd done to the protectors, modified their bodies, redirected their emotions, it was all so wrong even in a place where nothing was right.

"Delta?" she asked softly. "Your name is Delta?"

Delta smiled in triumph, relief flooding his body and nodded vigorously. In his excitement however the alpha forgot himself and jumped forward, closing the distance between them. He grabbed for her arms simply to embrace her but didn't realize his mistake until it was too late. Hazel screamed and leapt from the couch, why was he attacking her now? She scrambled backwards, tripped over the leg of the couch and fell flat on her rump breathing heavily. In a full fledged panic, Hazel clawed her way back to her feet and bolted for the door. Delta, unencumbered by his suit, made it first however and blocked her escape with his broad body.

"You don't have to hurt me Delta, please."

The alpha leaned back against the door feeling both euphoric and vulnerable at hearing his name spoken aloud. It had been years since he'd heard it, not since the collapse of the government, and it never sounded so perfect. It took him a long minute to articulate more words.

"I woo-wonnn't hurt you." he rasped and paused to think about how to explain himself. "Just too ...uh...excited I guess." Delta stumbled over several of the words but was pretty pleased with himself all in all.

The protector seemed genuine but it was very difficult for someone as sheltered as Hazel had been. She'd never had to make her own way, barter for food or goods and other than a few sneak attacks had never been touched skin on skin.

"I want to go back to B." It felt wrong to just leave her big daddy to rot, even if it meant throwing her own life away.

Delta's heart ached for the woman, having suffered his own unimaginable loss. She probably felt responsible for his death and guilty even though it hadn't been her choice to leave. He had forced himself to move on though, he'd reverently carried her tiny body to the morgue and incinerated her, needle and all. Though they'd gotten the adam before he'd killed them, no one would ever use it again. He'd been back to visit the "gravesite" nearly every day for the last two months. Yes, the alpha understood her loss all too well.

"It's not safe."

"Nowhere in Rapture is safe." Hazel countered.

"I'm safe." Delta heard himself promise. His confidence had been shattered, he'd failed the ultimate test and lost his little sister. But he wouldn't fail this time, he'd do anything to keep her safe, just as the bouncer had. "Please sit down." he gestured towards the couch, more begging than offering.

Though his voice was still very hoarse and sometimes faint, Hazel was undeniably impressed. It made him more human than she'd ever thought he could be, but safe? Hazel wasn't so sure about that. After a moment of indecision however she agreed to his request and took a seat at the very end of the couch. There was no way she was going to get past him and if he wasn't safe she was loath to anger him. Delta perched himself at the far end to give her the space she clearly needed, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped.

"What's your name?"

"Hazel." she replied with a small, tentative smile.

Hazel would have liked to think it was what her parents had called her but there was no proof of that.

"Hazel." Delta repeated softly, he liked it. "Are you hurt at all?" He wasn't quite sure how to act or what to say. He knew how to fight and fix things and that was pretty much it.

She shook her head before dropping her gaze down to her lap, eyes tearing up again.

"I'm ok, thank you." the assault had been aimed at B, though they likely would have moved on to her given the chance. "I umm, not to sound ungrateful but why are you helping me?" her eyes flitted back up to meet his, swelling with tears of sadness and confusion.

The alpha nodded, it was a legitimate question but it was one he didn't quite know the answer to. Part of it was guilt and a need to redeem himself, and perhaps some camaraderie for another fallen protector but there was more. He couldn't even explain the more to himself, how was he going to explain it to Hazel?

Delta shrugged noncommittally. "I need to protect and you need protection."


End file.
